1,366 sexual harassment complaints in 2013

May. 15, 2014 - 05:51PM
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Across the force, service members lodged 1,366 complaints of sexual harassment last year, according to a first-of-its-kind report to Congress.

About 60 percent of the complaints, or 806, were substantiated after an investigation. And of those, 499 resulted in nonjudicial punishments for the perpetrators, according to the 50-page report released Thursday.

The most common types of complaints involved “crude and offensive behavior” and “unwanted sexual attention.”

More than 95 percent of perpetrators were men and about half were in paygrades E-5 through E-9, the report said.

The Defense Department defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors that create an “intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment,” according to the report.

Congress last year ordered the Pentagon to compile a summary report on sexual harassment. Military research suggests a link between sexual harassment and sexual assault. About 30 percent of women and 19 percent of men who say they were victims of sexual assault during the past year also say their perpetrators sexually harassed them before or after the assault occurred, the report said.

Service members can file sexual harassment complaints through their chain of command or their local Military Equal Opportunity program office.